Last season The Voice was reality television's game-changer. But despite another good year in the ratings, cracks have appeared during season two of the juggernaut previously considered invincible.

Ratings for The Voice in the five mainland capitals looked alarmingly low two weeks ago only to climb back up to a whopping 2.404 million. But does that mean all is well? I'd argue no; it just hasn't had the same buzz at the water-cooler appeal as last year.

Sure, it's not new any more, so the gimmicks that marked it as an evolution – if not a revolution – in reality television haven't carried the same weight this year.

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But it's more than that. The title and the spinning chair, in particular, suggested the arrival of a format different from the pack, which would always promote the best talent – remember, it's all about the voice. And, despite the show settling into a familiar pattern last year, that did happen: Karise Eden, one of the most naturally gifted singers to grace an Australian autocue, was showered in glitter on the big day. Let's not forget the runner-up too, Darren Percival. His presence at the last stage reinforced the talent-is-everything narrative.

Authenticity, the strength of season one, has become the weak point in season two. Somehow this year's journey has felt more gushing and less inspiring, despite – or perhaps because of – the heavy use of the sob story.

The Voice isn't on shaky ground like American Idol, which lost three of four coaches in the off-season – and had the series producer sacked last week. But as one prominent Australian reality talent show producer told me, the show's maker Shine Australia would be stupid not to make major changes to the format, at least to stay ahead of its rivals.

But how? There's a lot going on in any one episode of The Voice, let alone a whole season. Here's our assessment of the main elements.

The format: Pass, but needs improvement.

What's not to love about the spinning chairs? Will they turn? Won't they? And at the last possible second – ka-pow. Never mind that we increasingly suspected the blind auditions weren't as blind as they pretended this year. Too many contestants were asked leading questions once they'd performed, suggesting the coaches knew their back-stories all along. After all Seal, Joel Madden, Delta Goodrem and Ricky Martin are singers, not actors.

The spinning chairs will be back, and still loved next year, but they won't be a talking point. Likewise the "battle rounds". At times, two strong singers were paired up, meaning a very fine singer – who may have won against a weaker opponent – was eliminated. Think Tim Moxey losing to Harrison Craig, or Anna Weatherup falling to Celia Pavey. But a little controversy makes for great television; they were debated and that meant they worked. Past tense.

Shine needs a big bold new element – or several – to get viewers excited all over again. Duets? Guest judges? Eliminating the contestant who sells the least each week? Make them sing jazz while Emma Pask stands by with a whip? Or will they fall on that reality staple, bringing back an eliminated contestant. Whatever, you can bet things will change.

The contestants: Pass.

Once the spinning chairs were put away, a narrative pattern was established which Shine must have hoped would electrify the audience again: reinforce the sob story, bring out the victim, er, performer, dazzle the crowd with shiny lights and backdrop, and hopefully wow them with the performances. Except that less is more with sob stories, and the flaws seem to be highlighted in lieu of real star power this year.

My test for any reality talent show is "who would I pay to see?". Yes, taste is subjective, and no, I'm not a talent spotter, but to me there's just not much obvious star power this year. Who among this year's cohort was truly world-class? I'd shell out my hard-earned cash to see Celia Pavey and Luke Kennedy sing, and probably the eliminated Jackie Sannia, but that's it. Pavey has a great balance between strength and delicacy that gives her performances a real pin-drop quality, while Kennedy has depth and oozes class and power. Much has been made of the fact that there is no one else releasing pop music like Danny Ross. The same was said of X-Factor winner Altiyan Childs. Ross sounded better the more conservative he was, but with experience, he could harness his weirdness.

Then there's runaway favourite, the much-loved Harrison Craig. For me, Craig's appeal is too much about being adorable and wholesome (and let's be frank, based on sympathy) to sustain a career. Yes his voice has fine control and it obviously touches people. But is it just me or is there a touch of Kermit the Frog at the bottom of his vocal range? While he is a capable "popera" (his words) star, if I was at Universal Music (which awards the winner's contract), I'd be insisting on Rainbow Connection as his first single.

Obviously hundreds of thousands of music buyers disagree – Craig had an incredible eight singles in the iTunes top 50 last week and held the number two and three positions in our main ARIA charts.

Coaches: Low pass, needs improvement.

For me, the coaching panel needs a change.

The arrival of Ricky Martin was at the expense of the grounded Keith Urban but it freshened up the show and brought some high voltage star power (at live taping sessions it's obvious he is far-and-away the most popular coach with the public).

You can't change Delta Goodrem, even if it made sense: she seems to do everything she can to sink her contestants' chances: giving Celia Pavey Xanadu? Oh dear. But she's the only woman and the only Australian.

Joel Madden, despite the public embarrassment of having cannabis allegedly found in his hotel room and garish patterns emblazoned on his hair, works as a coach because his self-deprecating sense of fun feels human. A brush with the law probably only reinforces that. Surely you can't ditch the laughs and the most genuine coach.

That leaves Seal. Martin's arrival appears to have created a kind of Alpha Male struggle for pack supremacy, and for all his self-appointed captaincy of the panel and Yoda-like sloganeering, Seal is losing.

Last Monday night Martin welled up that he wished his children would become as "noble and as strong and as beautiful". It was cheesy as a family-sized can of cheese spray, but Martin just got away with it – maybe being a hot-blooded Puerto Rican gives you licence to gush? But Seal's nauseating response was to try and one-up Ricky on the emotive over-sharing: (to Harrison) "I kept questioning myself, was I picking you the right songs, was I coaching you right, was I saying the right things to you, was I saying too much, was I saying too little? I realised what was happening, you were making me want to be a better person because of this example that you set. As far as I'm concerned, myself, Joel, Coach Delta and Coach Ricky and all of Australia, we have already won because we know the man that is Harrison Craig."

Australians will laugh if you tell them their lives are better because they've watched a reality TV show contestant (no matter if he's had a tough life) sing a few heartfelt ballads. It's been a Crazy ride. He brought gravity and experience to the show, but Seal's hyperbole is getting annoying. He's gotta go.

Most coaches and judges in reality talent shows are on a season-by-season contract, so it's possible. The smartest thing to do would be to bring in another Australian, that was part of Urban's appeal. Maybe it's time for a second female judge? That could provide a fascinating new dynamic.

These polls are not scientific and reflect the opinion only of visitors who have chosen to participate.

82 comments so far

Why no "replace them all" option on the poll?

Commenter

Ellie

Location

Date and time

June 17, 2013, 1:48PM

Replace the show with a well-scripted local drama. No, would never happen.

Commenter

rudy

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Date and time

June 17, 2013, 3:04PM

No I'm never gonna survi-ii-i-ive unless...the ratings get a little bit crazeh....

Commenter

Malik the magic sheep

Location

Perth

Date and time

June 17, 2013, 3:07PM

Agreed

Commenter

Hugo Thundercrotch

Location

Date and time

June 17, 2013, 3:09PM

+1

Commenter

Dave

Location

Ditch the lot

Date and time

June 17, 2013, 3:29PM

Of course the judges know the backstories. Do you think Seal is a mind-reader: "I feel you have a unique story to tell." LOL! The singers would also go through preliminary auditions with the producers before being selected to perform in front of the judges.

Commenter

George

Location

Melbouurne

Date and time

June 17, 2013, 1:48PM

I just wish the judges picked better songs for their teams. Half the time the singer has a great deal of talent, but their chances are sunk by being given some dreadful song on the pretense of it being to "broaden" their appeal. Delta is the worst at doing this.

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All_good_names_taken

Location

Date and time

June 17, 2013, 1:54PM

Spot on. Most are terrible songs.

Commenter

Haggis

Location

North of Sydney

Date and time

June 17, 2013, 2:51PM

Rainbow Connection for Harrison Craig, hilarious if not cruelly so. Laughed out loud I tell you. Didn't roll around on the floor because it looked too dirty.

Commenter

Adam

Location

Melbourne

Date and time

June 17, 2013, 2:14PM

Luke Kennedy trumps them all. He has to win doesnt he? I miss Australian Idol. Its all been downhill since then.